The Rising Dawn will Save Me
by aknightofni
Summary: When Middle Earth is being plagued by creatures that walk only in darkness, Bilbo flees the Shire for shelter and meets other haunted beings. Together they must fight madness and those that hunt them before it is too late. AU
1. Shelter from Seclusion

Hello!

This is an AU.

Title: The Rising Dawn Will Save Me

Rating: PG13 for horror, violence, stuff like that.

Summary: Middle Earth is being plagued by creatures that walk only in darkness. Fleeing the Shire, Bilbo Baggins goes to find shelter in the mountains. Along the way he meets certain others: an elf, a man, and two hobbits who are all recovering losses like his own. Together they must fight madness, death, and those that hunt them before all of their kind perishes in terror. AU

Ok. This is a weird idea, I know, I know, but you might enjoy it.

I had this weird dream and I got some ideas from it to write this… I also got some ideas from the movies The Last Man on Earth and Night of the Living Dead.

Disclaimer: I'm not making money off of this. And I do not own Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit or any of the ideas from the movies Night of the Living Dead and the Last Man on Earth.

Please, please, please review and give feedback! I hope you find this as interesting as I did.

Oh, and I must add to this AU thing. When I say AU, I mean AU. Some characters that should know each other don't know each other. And some characters who should be older are not older. But I merely wrote it that way, not because it is vital to the plot, but because I thought it added more originality and, quite frankly, sounded better when I wrote it over in my head.

Less rambling and onto the story!

Bilbo Baggins clutched his cloak around his shoulders as he scurried along the forest floor. He knew the cabin was up on the mountainside somewhere. The road had changed since he had last visited, however, and it was very difficult to find the way.

He and Frodo had built it and gone up there on warm summer days. It was very close to the Shire, in fact, barely enough to be considered wilderness, but yet, a different place all the same.

He had to reach there before nightfall, perhaps board it up a bit to strengthen its defenses. Oh, how he hoped it was still there!

Those things that came out at night frightened him and he did not want to spend another night huddled in a burrow with fire, clinging on through the lonely hours for dear life. No, he would not succumb to that again. He would find that cabin.

The sun slowly set over the pine trees and dusty road. The hills he stood upon were slowly sinking into darkness and he could almost feel that they wanted their prey.

It was then that he met another wanderer, eyes bright as he sat hovering within a tree, bow and arrows clutched between his fingers. But alas! An empty quiver!

Bilbo had glanced up at the sunset worriedly to find the elf there, shaking, frightened. Bilbo knew the elf was not the horrible creatures he hid from, but a person, because the creatures would only come out in darkness. Leaning back his head, the hobbit called, "Hello, Elf! I see you are also traveling these woods!"

The elf cautiously looked downward from his place of safety. He was shaking and timidly turned his face away.

"Elf! I will not hurt you! I am a mere hobbit, Bilbo Baggins of the Shire!" Bilbo replied. "I am also seeking refuge from those terrors of the darkness!"

The elf, at this, opened his blue eyes and jumped down to the ground before him. He stood gracefully, with his head held high, but his eyes so sad. "I am Legolas of Mirkwood," the elf answered. He said nothing more.

"Walk with me, Legolas." Bilbo begged. "Quickly! For I know of a place where we may find shelter…if it still exists. A cabin where my nephew and I one stayed on free, summer evenings."

It was beginning to grow darker much quicker, but Bilbo's spirits did not fall, for he saw the chimney of the cabin through a few boughs of trees. Once they reached it, it was nearly completely dark. The two of them could hear the rustling of the undead around them, and so hurried inside, bolting the door behind them.

The cabin was entirely made of wood. It was small, in fact, just big enough for Bilbo and Frodo (if he had been there). The fireplace stood against the wall while little hobbit furniture was scattered tastefully around the room. A rug was placed beside the empty hearth and three pieces of old, decayed wood were sprawled nearby. Bilbo quickly shut the door to the hallway that led to the bedrooms, dining room, study, and kitchen and bolted it. He did not want to search the other rooms for the horrible creatures in the darkness, and so simply locked himself away from them.

It was dark inside of the room, but Bilbo determined not to light a fire anyway for fear it would alert one of the creatures of their presence. If one was alerted, the rest would come. With the last ray of sun sifting away, Bilbo could just tell that there was no threat in the room and that the cabin was the way it should be. He covered up the windows subtly and sat down on a rocking chair. When the rocking chair squeaked loudly, however, both he and his elven guest froze in fright. This caused Bilbo, after alarm had passed, to change into a plushy chair by the fireplace, next to another plushy chair beside it.

Legolas stood in the center of the room, his eyes tracing the cabin in fear. He was still and quiet, and certainly, to poor Bilbo, terrible company in his time of loneliness. Finally Bilbo said, "Come, Legolas, come sit beside me. It will do you no good to stand uncomfortably through the night. We are safe here."

The elf obeyed, but nothing more. His eyes still traveled the room and his muscles still twitched nervously. Bilbo frowned and realized that something terrible must have happened to the elf for one from such a graceful race to behave so cowardly.

"Frodo and I used to come up here a lot." Bilbo remembered aloud. "We used to go fishing in the river, and berry gathering on the bushes beside the trails. It was so peaceful. We used to lie out underneath the stars-" He paused when he saw one diamond-like tear slip down the elf's cheek. "Oh, dear. I must have said something. I apologize." He quieted after that and said nothing more to his guest the rest of the night. He slowly drifted off to his first sleep in a very long time, and for once felt slightly secure in his life.

He awoke the next morning, refreshed slightly and rejuvenated. The elf, however, looked more distraught than before. Bilbo had read many times that elves did not need sleep, but he would swear to this day that that one did.

Bilbo was an adventurous hobbit, for sure, and knew at least a little something about survival. He, being a hobbit of course, tended to his most important need first- food. He took a berry gathering basket and a tiny fishing rod and made his way down to the river. He had only given Legolas one order, and that was to watch the cabin and make sure that no one except the two of them entered that living room. He handed a book laying on the hearth to him and begged him to read it while he was away.

Bilbo returned early afternoon with two little fish, some wood, and about thirty berries. He looked quite satisfied with himself. He built a tiny fire and roasted the fish over it while Legolas sat still, his eyes staring past the wall in reminisce. When the hobbit finished cooking, he served the food.

"I am not a bad cook if I do say so myself!" Bilbo complimented his own work, since it appeared that the elf would not.

Legolas nibbled at the fish delicately, still avoiding eye contact. He seemed to have grown worse than in the morning, and the book he had been assigned to read was still in the same place on the hearth.

"I only wish," Bilbo said disappointedly. "That I had done more needed work today. I should have searched out the back rooms. And I need a little more wood…Well, there is still an hour until sunset for wood…I have to get some for the fireplace, and to board up the windows…"

"Forgive me."

Bilbo looked up, startled. These were the only words the elf had spoken since he had introduced himself. Legolas's lips trembled as he apologized and Bilbo asked in reply, "My friend, forgive you for what?"

"I am embarrassed." Legolas answered, his fingers tracing the berry he held in his hands. "I should have helped you. You saved my life."

"Saved your life?" Bilbo said modestly. "Saved your life is a stretch! Surely you could have defended yourself with those finely crafted weapons of yours! Don't worry yourself a bit. We are all afraid sometimes."

"A Greenleaf is never a coward." Legolas replied softly, but more to himself than to Bilbo.

"We are all afraid sometimes," repeated the hobbit, taking another bite of fish as he stood to his feet. "I go to gather wood until sundown. You must stay here and guard this room. That is helping." At this, Bilbo left.

Legolas quickly finished his own food and watched the door attentively. If it was all he could do, he was going to do it well. This new little hobbit friend of his, well, he was certainly going to come in handy. If Bilbo had not have come along and offered him room in this cabin, then perhaps Legolas would be lying dead on the forest ground…or perhaps so devoured- He stopped. He did not want to think about it.

Bilbo returned with wood as fast as his poor little hobbit legs could carry him and plopped it unceremoniously in the center of the floor, shutting and bolting the door quickly behind him. The sun was setting quicker than he thought it would. He ran around the room frantically to make sure that the windows and door were all locked before putting out the fire and settling into his plushy chair to finish his dinner.

"There once was a hobbit who came from Bree. Among the men, he was a site to see. So he wasn't as tall, not a problem at all, it was really the size of his feet." The elf laughed. Laughed! How woundrous it was to Bilbo to hear such a pitiful creature laugh!

Legolas set down the book on a table beside him. So he had glanced through the book! It was apparently a bit of humorous poetry of hobbits, and it amused him so!

Bilbo smiled and laughed quite dearly, only stopping when his laughter grew in volume. High volume could not be afforded. He quieted to a slight chuckle and opened the book once more. "A traveler on the old road, he looked so much like a toad!, that when he would sing, out his mouth would there ring, the loudest and wildest of croaks!"  
Bilbo, after a while, could not read through the darkness, but the sharp eyes of an elf could most definitely. There Legolas read to the hobbit, drifting him off into a pleasant sleep.

The next morning, Bilbo awoke a bit later. The sun was already rising high into the sky, but he could smell meat roasting delicately over the fire. The scent came wildly to him and he sat up, famished with hunger. Legolas served him a bit off of the small rabbit when he came and Bilbo was quite delighted. It seemed as if the elf was determined on paying some sort of debt.

Afterward, Legolas offered to board up the windows so that they could light a fire at night without being seen by the creatures. As he had already fetched the food, and the wood was already lying in the room, Bilbo then found that it was a perfect day to clear out the back rooms and see if all was well.

He could hear the song of the elf wafting through the room and unbolted the door. The hallway looked darkened from a while of no use and Bilbo walked cautiously down it. The first door he opened was to the kitchen. All seemed quite well. There was no door in that room, so he found nothing life threatening there. The next room was the dining area. Again, no door. The third room, across the hallway, was Frodo's old bedroom. There was no door, but a large window. Bravely, he opened the closets and small places where anything could hide. There was no threat. The fourth room was his old bedroom. Again, a large window and he had to search the area. Once more, no threat.

The last door he came to was the study. He paused, momentarily, to make sure that he could still hear Legolas's song, as it was quite comforting. Taking a deep breath, he turned the doorknob. Nothing. The door did not open. He tried once more. It still did not budge. It was as if it were locked from the inside!

He threw himself against it when finally, the door, rusted on the hinges, sprung open. Two voices screamed and there was a sound of a sword being drawn. Bilbo was still slightly dizzy from his knock on the head from the door, but was frightened none the less. He could hear the sound of a bow being drawn to his side, but heard the voice of Legolas demand harshly, "Who are you!?"

"An elf!" one voice came in amazement, and slight relief. The sword was sheathed. At this, Legolas placed his bow upon his back once more.

Legolas demanded once more, "Who are you!?"

The male voice replied in shock, "Boromir, son of Denethor of Gondor."

"Gondor?" Bilbo asked, beginning to make out the fuzzy colors of the intruders. Finally, he vision cloudily returned and he saw before him a strange site.

There was a man, clad in brown, with a sword in a silver sheath at his waist and a horn at his side. He was slightly bearded and was quite young. He had long, brown hair to his shoulders and his eyes shown from within his face with weariness.

Huddled in the corner with his cloak were two small hobbits, with large, round eyes. They were very young and clung onto each other in fright. They each had curly brown hair and sparkling eyes. They, however, were quite relieved when they saw another hobbit in their presence.

"Who, may we ask, are you, in our shelter?" Boromir asked coldly.

"Your shelter!?" Legolas hissed defensively. "This shelter is ours. And it was built by this hobbit!" he motioned to Bilbo.

"Who are you!?" Boromir repeated, unsheathing his sword again.

"Legolas of Mirkwood."

At this, the Gondorian sheathed once more, only this time with a smirk upon his face. He stepped quietly toward him and said, his eyes gleaming, "A king, no doubt? Shall I bow to you?" He, in mock, did in fact bow.

Legolas was about to strike him when Bilbo intervened, exclaiming, "Come, in such dire situations we must not fight! Who might these young hobbits be?" When the hobbits shrank back, Bilbo continued, "I am Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. I will not hurt you."

The first boy, who appeared to be the older of the two, stood to his feet timidly and replied, "I am Merry. And this is my cousin Pippin."

"Hello Merry and Pippin." Bilbo replied. Oh, how they reminded him so much of Frodo when he was their age! "Come into the main room. The elf Legolas has cooked up some rabbit, if you would like some." First, however, Bilbo darted across the room and made sure that the door was locked and that the closets were clear of creatures. Then he led the hobbits, Boromir and Legolas out into the living area.

"Quite the handyman." Boromir said sarcastically, viewing the four boards that Legolas had managed to place over the window. "But I wouldn't expect an elf to know anything about carpentry."

The hobbits sat down and delicately ate what was placed in front of them, as they were starving. In fact, Boromir was hungry as well, and could not deny the pleasantly prepared meal. Afterward, Boromir insisted that he help board up the rooms since Legolas seemed to be struggling.

Bilbo, meanwhile, went out and gathered more berries and fish with the hobbits. Then he placed the meat in salt, which would preserve it somewhat. If needed, he wanted them all to be able to survive in that house for days.

The fact was, however, that they could not stay up there forever. They needed to find help, but help, Bilbo knew was not going to be easy to retrieve. Perhaps he could send the most able of them out one day, early morning perhaps, to scout the surrounding towns. He sighed. An elf was the fittest of them all, but he was unsure that Legolas was ready to be released into the wilderness once more as he appeared to have gone through a traumatic experience.

Boromir and Legolas bickered as they put up the boards, although the task eventually was finished and all of the windows in the house were boarded up, although the last piece of wood was not put up until dark. They decided that the next morning they would work on the back doors, so that only the door in the front room would give them access to the outside world.

The hobbits returned at sundown, quickly as they could, and built a roaring fire. However, Bilbo was unsure if the fire would show from the outside in the darkness, so, as the last rays of sun disappeared, Boromir volunteered to go outside, sword drawn, and look.

He paused and smelled the air. It was repugnant with rotting flesh and infected blood. Holding his breath to prevent himself from vomiting, he sadly noticed that, although no light shown through the windows, black smoke billowed from the chimney visibly. He quickened his pace and stood just outside the door to the cabin. The ground was vibrating lightly from their footsteps and the trees, he noticed, looked as if they were quivering in fear. He threw himself into the room and bolted the door quickly behind him as he demanded that they put out the fire. It was done by Bilbo, who frightfully apologized for lighting one in the first place.

"A candle will have to do for light, since the smoke is not as visible." Boromir answered. And so a candle was lit.

They sat around it, staring into each other's darkened faces. The hobbit children huddled together next to Boromir on one side, while Legolas and Bilbo sat on the other.

Bilbo had brought more chairs into the room for them all, and more tables. He had hoped to make the room they sat in the main room they all existed in because it was big enough to survive in by itself, if need be.

"Well," Bilbo began quietly to break their uneasy silence. "We know little about each other, since we have simply been brought together under such frightful circumstances. Perhaps we should all tell our stories." When no one answered, Bilbo sighed and said, "I suppose that it will be me to speak first, then."

Well that was the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please, please, please give me feedback! Thank you!  
And please read my next chapter when I post it. That chapter is, well, everyone's story and how they ended up at the cabin. So stay tuned!


	2. Tales Around the Candle

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or anything from the two movies I got some ideas from: Night of the Living Dead and The Last Man on Earth.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!

Deana- I am so glad you enjoyed the first chapter! I hope that you enjoy this chapter too! In this one, you'll find out what happened to Legolas. Thank you for reading and thank you for your review!

He began, slowly, sadly, but steadily. He wanted the others to know his past, so that he was not alone in such terrible times. "A long time ago, I went on a great adventure, although a tale for another night. Shortly afterward I was entrusted with my nephew Frodo, whose parents tragically perished long ago. He was intrigued by me, a hobbit who for once liked adventure." He stopped, but continued shortly afterward, "We used to come up to this cabin often when he was younger, in his childhood and tweens. That is why I had it built, for the two of us. It was our little secret place. While we were gone all of the other hobbits would bicker curiously and gossip behind our backs, but we would always return, healthy and happy- and well fed. There was always good food to be caught up here. But the days grew darker. Oh, dear I wish I could forget. Frodo grew very ill. His hands were sweating and shaking and his forehead was dripping with blood. I-I didn't know what to do. I called healers desperately, but each one of them failed in diagnosing him. It came to the point where I called in Lord Elrond of Rivendell, a friend of mine, but even he returned home perplexed. I-I don't know how he got so ill! But it worried me day and night until finally, one morning, so recently it occurred that his breath halted and his heart beat no longer throbbed! He died! Oh, Frodo…" Bilbo did what he could to resist tears and he successfully managed. However, he could not fight the chills that erupted down his spine as he told his next half of the tale:

"After Frodo's death, I was quite a wreck. I remember burying his body in the cemetery at Hobbiton and standing over his grave. I knew he was dead. I knew he was buried. Why then did I see him the next night?" Bilbo trembled and it took a hand from Legolas on his shoulder to calm him, except that the elf himself was shaking. "I went to sleep crying and woke up in the darkness to hear a knocking sound on my door…."

……..Bilbo sat up. He could hear the knocking on the door quite loudly. It made him angry. So recently after his nephew's death, who would dare to come barging in so late at night? He placed a cloak about his shoulder and went to the door.

It did not smell right, that putrid, rotting fume in his doorway. He placed his hand on the knob, but faltered. The smell was intolerable! Who could possibly be knocking at his door so late at night with such a stench about them? It could be no one he knew! Not even the Sackville Bagginses would dare attempt such a thing!

He opened the door, softly, carefully. He found that he could not move. He was entranced by what stood before him.

There was Frodo, somehow different, somehow the same. But more different, for sure, he was, than anything else. He was bleeding from his forehead once again and was wearing the burial shroud made for him. There was dirt upon him and twigs and leaves caught in his hair.

Bilbo began to think that perhaps Frodo was not dead and they had simply buried him alive. But burying alive was not something to be taken lightly. And Bilbo was sure that Frodo was dead when pronounced it. Still, he spoke to him, trembling, "Frodo! You are alive!"

The hobbit did not reply but raised his hands in the air. He placed them gently on Bilbo's shoulder and leaned his head forward as if he were to embrace and kiss him. Bilbo, however, out of the corner of his eye caught the gleam of a white tooth nearing his skin and threw that thing which called itself Frodo away from him. He slammed the door and locked it once more, leaning back against it for breath. He was shaking and fretting. And poor dear Bilbo! He was so distressed that he broke into a fit of sobs at his door.

More knocking and banging on the house at Bag End ensued and Bilbo felt as if he were going mad. He clutched his head and fell to his knees, but nothing saved him from that hellish nightmare…

……………..

"The next day I devoted myself to finding out more about this mystery. Several dozen hobbits had grown sick with the illness overnight." Bilbo sighed deeply. "It had reached epidemic proportions in Hobbiton. One more night with banging on my windows was all it took for me to flee the Shire for safety. I came into these mountains, and have been traveling for many nights. I had nearly forgotten where this cabin was. When I was traveling, I was caught in the darkness in the middle of a forest. There, I lit a fire as the creatures, many more than just Frodo, approached and I wielded it like a torch. It seemed to keep them at bay while I traveled. When their numbers doubled the next night, I was forced to seek shelter in a burrow within the ground, while holding my torch above the hole to keep them away." Here, Bilbo paused to watch the expressions of his companions, whose faces were dark and dreary, but did not speak of surprise at anything Bilbo had said. "My going was slow, and several days after I left Hobbiton I came across Legolas and the cabin." Here, he felt it best to end his story as it had frightened him so that he felt it take a dreadfully heavy toll on his health.

The hobbit children clung to Boromir, frightened very much so and not a bit amused. Their faces were white and created a sharp contrast between their hair and their skin. Fear was heavy in their voices as they squeaked slightly while trembling.

Legolas was silent, very silent, but very sad as well. His eyes had grown heavy and his knees had grown weak, even though he sat. His story was not less disturbing and it seemed to have harmed him more so than Bilbo.

Boromir watched in silence as Bilbo wiped a coming tear from his eyes. The poor old fellow had gone through so much. He had lost someone and was confused, perhaps more so than the rest of them!

But what was this terrible illness he spoke of? The hobbit children had mentioned it as well.

"I will tell my tale next." Boromir replied slowly, trying to lift the attention away from Bilbo, who certainly did not want it. "I was in Bree. I could have been in Minas Tirith with my father, as I was very comfortable there, but I was in Bree. Those rangers are quite the adventure. And the women in Bree." Boromir smiled softly. "Anyway, I was in Bree on my own accord when this disease erupted across the town. There was barely anyone there. The women were few, the rangers that resided there were scattered, and the town was barely large enough to sustain one traveler. I stayed at the Prancing Pony Inn, where only the innkeeper Butterbur walked. He gave me a room but warned me that I could not leave at night, only during the day, for he boarded it up. I inquired about this strange action, but Butterbur merely replied with 'for your sake I hope you never find out.' But I did find out. I am not one to merely sit at night and wonder. I like to know. So I crept outside through my window and saw to my horror, thousands of them.

They were everywhere! They were these walking men, women and hobbits, with a horrible stench and an appearance of empty shells, all walking toward the inn and several scattered houses where smoke billowed through the chimneys. I saw before my very eyes a woman being ripped from her house and devoured by those-those things." His eyes glistened with hate and tears. "I saw before my very eyes their sharp, bloodstained teeth puncture the skin of the dear, frightened woman's arm. The rest, I watched, but will not relay to you. It was so gruesome, so horrible!" At this, Boromir paused and sighed despairingly. "Then I heard Butterbur scream, within the Inn. One had crawled through my open window…" He shook his head. "When I went inside, Butterbur was already dead. I fled into the hills, my steed already drained dry of blood. It was there that I traveled for many nights, with only my sword for comfort in all of that terror. And one night, late in the evening, I met Merry and Pippin." He stopped and replied, "I will let them tell their own tale."

The small hobbits shook their heads but finally Merry relayed their story, through shaking lips and running tears. "Back in the Shire…My parents fell ill with the rest of the town, including Pip's father. They passed away. We didn't know what to do. Pippin's mother tried to comfort us, but she could find no comfort herself. Half the town had died from the plague-like disease that came to all at night. When the dead started coming to our doorstep, including those we had once loved-" Merry paused to let a sob escape from his mouth. It was then that Bilbo went to his side and comforted him gently. "Pip's mother took us and we fled into the hills. It was one night, not far from here, that the creatures came to us and grabbed his mother." At this, Bilbo had to comfort Pippin. "They-They bit her, but it was then that the sun rose, and they could go no further. They disappeared into the deep shadows of the trees until the light spread all about us and we could see them no more. His mother fell ill after that. She died not long later." Pippin buckled to the ground in tears and none of those around him could console him of his losses. He was loud and wailing, and it took Bilbo a few desperate moments to at least quiet him so that the creatures would not come for all of their company. Merry continued, but reluctantly. "The night after she died, she appeared to us once more. She was different…the blood seeped about her and her features were no longer kind…they were cold. And there was a rotten scent about her that caused me to vomit…"

……….

"Merry," Pippin said in joy, "My mother is alive! She is alive! Merry-" He paused when he saw Merry growing very sick.

It was then that the she-hobbit howled and barked, "Come Pippin! Come!"

But Pippin, despite his joy, felt a strange thought. That wasn't her…It wasn't his mother… He did not obey.

"Pippin!" she ordered. "Pippin, come here now!"

"Don't go to her Pip!" Merry begged, grasping his shoulder. "Don't go to her!"

"Pippin, come this instant! Now, Pippin!" she grew angry, and her eyes flared.

Pippin began crying and tried to break away from Merry. It took more than a few tries to be successful. He went slowly to her as she grasped his arm. She then lifted him up to level with her face and lunged her teeth forward.

Pippin felt his body thud against the dirt and leaves and heard the clanging of a sword. There was shouting from a man and a scream from Merry, who grabbed Pippin and carried him away from the fight. He then saw, as he sat huddled with Merry in the dirt against a tree trunk, a tall man with a horn at his side and a sword skillfully in his hands fighting with the creatures that surrounded them. He had saved Pippin! He had not been harmed at all, except immensely frightened.

The man fought with valor and protected them all through the rest of the night, until the morning shown brightly and he collapsed with weariness before them. However, he somehow found the strength to walk beside them, and urge them to move on despite how distressed they all were. They found the cabin, flung inside one of the rooms, and bolted the two doors in it, not willing to search the rest of the house. There, they all fell into deep sleeps from exhaustion…

……….

By now Merry and Pippin were both sobbing, Boromir was casting his eyes into the melting wax of the candle, Bilbo was trying desperately to comfort the hobbits, and Legolas was simply sitting there, his eyes averted. He knew it was his turn to speak.

After a few moments, the others calmed and watched him with anticipation, but Legolas merely snapped at them, "What business is it of yours to know my past? What right do you have to prod into it?"  
"Such a pampered king, he is." Boromir sighed crisply and took a bit of berry from a basket beside him.

"Perhaps Legolas is not ready to tell us his story yet." Bilbo answered sharply. "Perhaps he is afraid to."

"Afraid!?" Legolas replied, remembering the hobbit's words from a few days before- 'We are all afraid sometimes.' "A Greenleaf is never afraid." He swallowed hard and took a deep breath before beginning his tragic tale.

"I grew up with my father in the castle of Mirkwood. My mother died when I was very young. My father and I were very close. He protected me my entire life- raised me, loved me, kept me happy. When he died in battle, I was devastated. I-I had no where to go. He was my world. I met my wife shortly after his death and she took me in, you know? Loved me, cared for me. And I loved her so strongly. But she was mortal, from the town on the Long Lake, and passed away shortly afterward. My son Anoran was all I had left. So I determined to be like my father- to love him, to raise him, to never let anything happen to him. I vowed it. We had been traveling away from Mirkwood for a while, only a short trip to see foreign lands. That was all…"

……………………

"Ada! Ada! Look at the beautiful flowers!" The elfling jumped up and down and was so filled with joy that Legolas could not help but laugh at the site. "Ada, I have never seen these types of flowers! What are they?"  
"I do not know," Legolas answered truthfully, placing his hand on one gently and smelling its sweet fragrance. "I have not been to this place before. But it is truly glorious."  
Anoran touched the flower with wonder and said, "Ada, it is colored like the sunrise. Shall we call it then, a morning glory?"

Legolas chuckled and plucked the flower, placing it in one of his son's braids, "Aye. We shall!"  
………………….

"Legolas?" Bilbo asked, waking the elf from his daze. "You must tell us more."

Legolas glared at him angrily. The hobbit had stolen him from his reveries. How Bilbo did not know how much Legolas needed to dwell on the past, when all was good and bright- when he was with his son. "Alright," he finally consented, continuing his tale, but his voice was dim and shadowy. He reluctantly let his tale slip from his trembling lips as the others watched and waited in the darkness for his next words.

………………..

The sun set heavily over the rising hills, creating an eerie orange glow to the rocks and grasses upon them. Anoran walked close to his father, for the first time in his life, fearing the woods. He could not exactly place why, but he knew he was afraid.

Legolas suddenly stopped. His spine straightened and his ears stiffened in alert. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as the foulest of smells drifted in with the wind.

"Ada!" Anoran wailed. "Ada, what is happening?"

"Shhh." Legolas silenced. He drew his bow and arrow quickly, but paused when he saw a flicker of movement in the trees behind them.

"Ada!" warned the child. "Behind you!"

Legolas swung around and fired his arrow, hitting his mark every so delicately. The creature that stood before him, however, did not fall.

It appeared to be man or hobbit, but deformed. It was not an orc or goblin either. It was simply…soulless. Yes, soulless. That was the only way to really describe the horrors before his eyes.

When the child screamed again, Legolas realized that fighting was no use. They were completely surrounded. Thinking only of his son, he took the child by the hand and together they fled through a space between where two of the beings walked.

They ran as quickly as they could, but even elves may lose their stamina. Legolas knew that the two of them would have to face their enemies, but he hoped it would not be too soon.

It was then that he felt the child's hand slip from his grasp and heard a scream. He swung around and with fiery eyes full of hatred sprung upon the lad's captor. He felt the coldness of its flesh, the unfeeling movements of its rotting body! He placed his blade beneath its throat and cut it, causing it to stop moving.

He glanced up to see Anoran backed against a tree, whimpering and begging the Valor to keep his father safe. It ached Legolas and he felt the promise of old within him. He would not fail his son…He had swore he would always protect him! "Stay Anoran!" he ordered.

"Ada! Ada I'm frightened!" the child intook his breath as he saw before his very eyes in the darkness the sword of his father swipe across the necks of a dozen creatures…

…………

Legolas felt a tear slip down his cheek and he choked out his next words, "When I looked back, Anoran was gone. There was no site of him. I looked in the tree…Everywhere…I've been looking since but I cannot find him. I call his name. I yell, I scream, I cry." Another tear fell down the elf's face and he turned away. "But he will not return to me. I vowed to protect him and I failed. My father never failed me, but I have failed my son." And those were the last words said. He flew to the door and flung himself outside.

Oooh…scary…ahem anyway. I hope that was entertaining and please review! Feedback is precious!

Chapter 3 coming soon.

Thank you!


End file.
